A Diffractive Approach to Analyzing Qualitative Data Using Different Theoretical Lenses

Session Type: Workshop

Abstract

In this session four researchers will discuss how we collectively engaged data on STEM teachers’ informal science practices in the formal classroom. A diffractive approach was used for the data analysis process wherein each researcher approached the data with different theoretical lenses and developed her own analytical questions. This use of multiple perspectives revealed the complexities of STEM teacher identity and teacher practice within an urban environment while also allowing for more robust claims to be made about STEM teacher identity, pedagogical practices and informal learning science. We will share our diffractive data analysis process and invite participants to engage in small group discussion around using different conceptual approaches in the practice of collective data analysis.

Sub Unit

• Division D - Measurement and Research Methodologies / Division D - Section 3: Qualitative Research Methods

Chair

• Carol B. Brandt, Temple University

Papers

• Politics Matter: Discourses Around Teacher Ideology and Identity - Atasi Das, The Graduate Center, CUNY

• Teacher Learner Identity and Its Influence on Teacher Professional Identity and Practice - Susan McCullough, City College of New York

• Antiblackness in Science Learning Contexts - LaToya Strong, The City University of New York

• Negotiating Narratives of Race in the STEM Classroom - Jennifer Dawn Adams, University of Calgary